Cavendish Keeps His Dubai Tour Leaders Jersey

Last updated : 05 February 2015 By Covsupport News Service

Mark Cavendish of Etixx Quick Step keeps his Tour of Dubai leaders jersey for another day after finishing second in the sprint on stage two.

The Nakheel Stage was 187kms long with a finish at Palm Jumeirah at Atlantis The Palm.

One hundred and twenty eight riders took to the road with Andrea Guardini in the red points jersey which was actually owned by race leader Mark Cavendish and Ben Swift in the sprint jersey.

On a glorious day, a group of five riders including Team Sky's Berni Eisel formed a break which got 3.30 clear before being pulled back with 133kms and then Chun Fai Feng of Lampre, Davide Frattini of United HealthCare and Tunisian Champion Rafaa Chtioui of Sky Dive got away.

They were 4.22 clear with 72.4kms left after being 5.30 ahead of a peloton which had split into two groups with the group containing Cavendish now 1.35 behind, six seconds ahead of the second group.

With sixty kilometres left, Feng and Frattini dropped back into the peloton, leaving Chtioui out front on his front own.

Past the herds of camels and the cricket ground and into Dubai City with twenty kilometres left and Chtioui was still clear with a lead of 1.30.

With 14.3kms, there was a couple of riders on the deck as some went the wrong way down a fork in the road which was not marshalled.

The Tunisian stayed away until there was just under ten kilometres left and the sprint was on, as Geraint Thomas led Team Sky down the tunnel aheading towards the Palm Jumeirah resort, which is on land re-claimed from the sea.

Elixx, Astana and Team Sky were all handily placed as they took a u-turn with 2.3kms left.

Under the flam rouge and Gaint Alpecin were in the front. Mark Renshaw led out Cavendish but Elia Viviani of Team Sky went down the left and won in 4.29.59 ahead of Cavendish, Andrea Guardini, Alexander Porsev of Katusha and Andrea Palini of Team Sky Dive Dubai.

Viviani told his team's website: "After two podium finishes I am really happy to take the victory today.

“I think we now have such a strong team for the sprints. We have me, (Ben) Swifty and Andy (Fenn), but before that we have Bernie (Eisel) and G (Geraint Thomas). This is one of the best lead-out trains in the world.

“After yesterday we looked at the video and we analysed what we could do better and what we could change. Yesterday the wind came slightly from the left and we went on the left. We covered Cav but I had a 250-metre battle with him and I lost a direct fight.

“Today we took the lead with 5km to go with Bernie and G. It was a technical finale with some tricky corners. We took the lead but we knew it was early. Andy, me and Swify moved back a little bit onto the Etixx – Quick-Step train and we waited for the right moment. With 350m to go Swifty went on the left side. When the other sprinters saw that they started to go and I was on Guardini’s wheel. When I saw the chance I went for it. It was a great victory.”  

Cavendish retained his leaders and points jersey and told his Etixx Quick Step team's website: The finish was pretty hard. 

"We were well organised, but so were the other teams. The wind was coming from the left, we knew it was coming from the left. Unfortunately we were on the wrong side on the last roundabout. It's really a drag race until that U-turn. We just lost the right position going into it. So we had to come around the hard way into the wind.

"The guys did an incredible job coming around on the windy side, which says a lot because they had to chase pretty much the whole day. That situation just took me out of my comfort zone a little bit and I just lost the legs there in the sprint.

"But I looked at my power and I was happy with my power in the end. I am happy with the team. Elia was just faster today, and that's it, he deserved the win. We'll see what we can do to protect my leadership tomorrow with the Hatta Dam stage, and then see if we can go for another sprint win on the last stage."